Fear of not having enough to eat may lead to obesity

Obesity is becoming a growing concern over recent years, as youth obesity skyrockets, general population obesity is climbing also.

While too much food causes obesity, lack of it seems like it'll head that way too.

Low income families who struggle to put food on the table (often called food insecurity) often correlate with obesity.

Previous studies indicate the problem starts during infancy.

Researchers Dr Gross and her team assembled 201 mothers with toddlers from poorer background to undergo the study.

They asked them how often they regulate food, napping and various other activities.

Results showed that they fed their infants at irregular times.

When infants were hungry, they would receive no food.

When infants ate and became full, parents pressured them to eat even more resulting in obesity.

This is also seen by mothers who control their child's eating times, instead of the child being able to have food when they want.

"This work suggests that in addition to addressing hunger and malnutrition, it is critical that policy efforts be made to work with food-insecure families to prevent the opposite problem; obesity" Dr. Gross said.